Today, Ales Bialiatski, a prominent Belarusian human rights defender who became the first laureate of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2013, was released from prison after spending almost three years behind bars.

“For many years Ales Bialiatski has been a committed partner of the Assembly, who shared with our members his expertise and restlessly fought for human rights in Belarus. His imprisonment in 2011 came as a shock, and we have never missed an occasion to demand his unconditional release,” said Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

“I am happy to see Ales Bialiatski free; I congratulate from all my heart his family and his colleagues from Viasna and the FIDH. I truly believe that the day will come when there will be no political prisoners left – in Belarus or elsewhere. We will work hard to bring this day closer.”

Ales Bialiatski, President of the Belarusian Human Rights Centre Viasna and Vice-President of the FIDH, was sentenced to four and a half years of imprisonment in August 2011 for alleged tax evasion. PACE, other bodies of the Council of Europe, the EU and major international NGOs considered this trial as politically motivated. In September 2013 the Assembly awarded to Mr Ales Bialiatski the first Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.